Martyn McFadden, editor-in-chief of Sunderland fanzine A Love Supreme, wants Ellis Short to back Dick Advocaat in the transfer market.

Published:06:00Saturday 28 March 2015

A SUNDERLAND fanzine chief has praised the Premier League’s plan to share at least £1billion of its TV cash – and says a chunk of it should go on making ticket prices more affordable.

The English top-flight league recently secured a UK record TV deal worth £5.136bn.

It would be good to see a cap on ticket prices for away fans, as they are the most loyal, hardcore supporters who follow their team across the country.

Martyn McFadden

Earlier this week it pledged to redistribute more than £1bn of that to five key areas: grassroots facilities, participation, fan engagement and matchday experience, the lower leagues, and supporting disadvantaged groups.

The league also announced that each of its 20 clubs would pay all of their full-time staff the living wage, which is set at £9.15 an hour in London, and £7.85 an hour in the rest of the UK.

It is as yet unclear whether there will be any across-the-board cuts to ticket prices, but many have called for the Premier League to look at German football, which has been hailed for its affordable pricing.

Martyn McFadden, editor-in-chief of Sunderland fanzine A Love Supreme, has also appealed to the league to place a cap of £20 on away tickets, which the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) has campaigned for with its “Twenty’s Plenty” initiative. Martyn said: “This type of thing is much needed in football.

“There is so much money within the game, it should be quite easy for some of it to trickle down.

“When you’ve got footballers at some clubs earning £100,000-a-week and more, it seems ridiculous that some people working full-time there haven’t been getting the living wage.

“There is still more that can be done, and I’d like us to look more towards the German model, particularly with ticket prices.

“It would be good to see a cap on ticket prices for away fans, as they are the most loyal, hardcore supporters who follow their team across the country.

“I fully back the FSF’s campaign to say £20 is plenty for away tickets, especially when you factor in how much it costs to travel.

“For some games, the tickets are now over £50, and that prices a lot of people with lower incomes out of the game.”

“To have away tickets at £20 across the board would get more away fans in the ground and make it a better atmosphere.”